1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a flash tube reflector, and more particularly to a flash tube reflector with minimized size and optimized illumination.
2. Description of the Related Art
Illumination is one of the major requirements to produce a high quality photograph. Illumination in different environments and weather could be various. To keep the illumination up to an ideal level for taking a photograph, a flashlight is always used associated with a camera. Apart from the flash tube, the reflector is also a key compartment of the flashlight.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional reflector, which is associated with a flash tube (not shown). FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the reflector along the dot line 2xe2x80x942 in FIG. 1. The reflector 100 is an arc-shaped light-reflection material. A flash tube 200 is positioned in the concave of the reflector 100. The flash tube 200 is typically positioned around the central axis 210. The shape of the flash tube 200, the feature of the reflector 100, and the relative position between the flash tube and the reflector could determine the quality of light flashing.
However, the curve of the conventional reflector 100 is not properly designed so that the illumination is not optimized. Also, while an optimized distribution of the light is needed, the size of the whole reflector 100 could increase, which is not ideal for a small sized camera.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a flash tube reflector for a flash tube to distribute light of the flash tube evenly. The reflector is a vertical portion of an elliptic cylinder extending along a Y-axis, and a cross section of the reflector along the XY plane is a portion of an ellipse. The zenith E at the reflector intersects the X-axis, and the flash tube contacts the reflector at E. The point A is a center of the flash tube and c is a distance between E and A, the point F1 is a first focus of the ellipse and f1 is a distance between E and F1, the point F2 is a second focus of the ellipse and f2 is a distance between E and F2. The relations of c, f1, and f2 include 0.20xe2x89xa6c/f1xe2x89xa60.45 and 0.14xe2x89xa6f1/f2xe2x89xa61.0.
It is therefore a further object of the invention to provide a flash tube reflector of a flash tube with an enhanced brightness. The reflector is a vertical portion of an elliptic cylinder extending along a Y-axis, a cross section of the reflector along the XY plane is a portion of an ellipse, and a zenith E at the reflector intersects the X-axis. The flash tube contacts the reflector at E, and a point A is a center of the flash tube and c is a distance between E and A. The point F1 is a first focus of the ellipse and f1 is a distance between E and F1. The point F2 is a second focus of the ellipse and f2 is a distance between E and F2. The relations of c, f1, and f2 are 0.24xe2x89xa6c/f1xe2x89xa60.55 and 0.07xe2x89xa6f1/f2.
It is therefore another object of the invention to provide a flash tube reflector of a flash tube with an enhanced brightness. The reflector is a vertical portion of an elliptic cylinder extending along a Z-axis and a cross section of the reflector in the XY plane is a portion of an ellipse. A zenith E of the reflector intersects the X-axis, and the flash tube contacts the reflector at E. A point A is a center of the flash tube and c is a distance between E and A, a point F1 is a first focus of the ellipse and f1 is a distance between E and F1, a point F2 is a second focus of the ellipse and f2 is a distance between E and F2 and the relation of c and f1 is 0.35xe2x89xa6c/f1xe2x89xa60.40. The reflector further includes a first extension coupled to a first terminal of the reflector and extending substantially parallel to the X-axis, and a second extension coupled to a second terminal of the reflector and extending substantially parallel to the X-axis.